Group Behavior of Nanoparticles Translocating Multiple Nanopores

Nanopores have been implemented as nanosensors for DNA sequencing, biomolecule inspection, chemical analysis, nanoparticle detection, etc. For high-throughput and parallelized measurement using nanopore arrays, individual addressability has been a crucial technological solution in order to enable scrutiny of signals generated at each and every nanopore. Here, an alternative pathway of employing arrayed nanopores to perform sensor functions is investigated by examining the group behavior of nanoparticles translocating multiple nanopores. As no individual addressability is required, fabrication of nanopore devices along with microfluidic cells and readout circuits can be greatly simplified. Experimentally, arrays of less than 10 pores are shown to be capable of analyzing translocating nanoparticles with a good signal-to-noise margin. According to theoretical predictions, more pores (than 10) per array can perform high-fidelity analysis if the noise level of the measurement system can be better controlled. More pores per array would also allow for faster measurement at lower concentration because of larger capture cross sections for target nanoparticles. By experimentally varying the number of pores, the concentration of nanoparticles, or the applied bias voltage across the nanopores, we have identified the basic characteristics of this multievent process. By characterizing average pore current and associated standard deviation during translocation and by performing physical modeling and extensive numerical simulations, we have shown the possibility of determining the size and concentration of two kinds of translocating nanoparticles over 4 orders of magnitude in concentration. Hence, we have demonstrated the potential and versatility of the multiple-nanopore approach for high-throughput nanoparticle detection.